Democracy, Oversight and Legislature in Nigeria

Abstract

There is a wide range of scholarly literature suggesting that oversight function has increasingly impacted on the democratization process in Nigeria. Accordingly, it was debated that oversight function had been severally misused and compromised by the legislature in Nigeria. However, despite many allegations against committees of oversight, it has been also argued that there are many instances where the executive has changed and responded to the recommendations of the legislature after conducting ex-post oversight, and that has proved useful to democracy. This paper studies how the oversight function of the legislature helps democracy in Nigeria from 1999-2015. The paper argues that the legislature in the Fourth Republic has increasingly used its oversight function not only in controlling the executive but it has contributed in the stabilization of politics,  reduction of corruption and increasing the quality of democracy. The study engages in semi structured face-to-face interviews with relevant informants. What follows, ultimately, is a qualitative analysis of data collected. The paper reveals that the function of oversight is improving in Nigeria. However, there are allegations of corruption against the legislature in performing that function. The study suggested that the legislature should be checkmated to reduce misconduct in some of their activities. Similarly, its recommendations and resolutions should be recognized and accepted by the executive to enable the democratization process.